


Better Than This

by imbethwhittaker



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Family Fluff, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:35:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27467290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imbethwhittaker/pseuds/imbethwhittaker
Summary: When her babysitter cancels on her last minute, JJ is stuck with no one to look after eleven-month-old Henry.
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Kudos: 93





	Better Than This

**Author's Note:**

> This is set three months before my other Jemily one-shot, Pretty Stegosaurus. You can read either first, it doesn't matter.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and/or the established storyline, they are credited to the writers and creators of the show.

> “You are my best friend as well as my lover, and I do not know which side of you I enjoy the most. I treasure each side, just as I have treasured our life together.”   
>  — Nicholas Sparks

It had been a very long day for the team, for JJ. A day filled with consults and phone calls and barely any time to breathe left JJ anxious to get home. Usually, she would have stayed until the pile of brown manila folders had decreased, but with her babysitter cancelling on her last-minute, it left JJ with no choice but to call the only member of the team that wasn’t in the office, which made her more eager to get home than usual.

The whole team had been on constant rotation for the past two months, so the powers that be had told them to take some time off—this meant each member of the team got a week off while the others were in the office off-rotation. JJ had just come off her brief, week-long vacation, and now she was back, Emily was the only one not in the office and her only choice to call for a favour.

Emily always hated taking time off, whether it was a compulsory vacation or when a doctor had put her on leave following an injury chasing an unsub. So when JJ had called her in a panic, she’d jumped at the chance to baby-sit Henry for the day, even if she didn’t know what to do with an eleven-month-old all day.

After saying her goodbyes to the rest of the team, JJ caught the elevator from the sixth floor to the parkade, finding her car with ease. The drive from the office wasn’t long, and she found herself driving a little faster than the speed limit.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Emily, she trusted everyone on the team around Henry, but Emily wasn’t the most agile person within the BAU. JJ was hoping that her house was still standing by when she made it home, and her son was in one piece.

Parking outside, she was happy to find her house still intact and not in flames or a pile of rubble like her over-active imagination was telling her. Grabbing her files and phone from the passenger seat, she swiftly made her way to the house. When she unlocked the door, she expected to hear Henry playing, or at least the TV playing Henry’s dinosaur program, but she was met with silence.

JJ dropped her keys in the glass bowl next to the front door along with her files, and after she kicked her shoes off, she set about trying to find her son and Emily, knowing neither would be far away. Searching the living room and kitchen first, she came up empty, so she made her way up the stairs. Her years of stalking through unsubs houses made her steps quiet on the otherwise creaky stairs.

Checking Henry’s bedroom, she once again came up empty, so she made her way into her bedroom. She opened the door slightly, noting that the muted TV was the only thing illuminating the room, and on her bed laid Emily, softly snoring as she fiercely protected a sleeping Henry along with a pile of pillows around him to stop him from rolling off the bed.

JJ’s heart warmed at what she was witnessing. When Will had left eleven months ago, JJ had pushed her lingering feelings for Emily to the back of her mind, citing Henry as her number one priority. Seeing Emily spend time with her son, being there for the two of them even though she never asked for help, just deepened the feelings JJ had.

Knowing Henry would be better off in his bed, JJ crossed the room slowly, careful not to disturb either of them. Kneeling on the side of the bed, JJ picked up Henry with ease, but when he stirred with a grunt, Emily’s eyes shot open and she grabbed the first thing she could find, holding it up at the intruder.

“FBI, I have a gun,” she said, quickly sitting up. While her voice laced with sleep, she still managed to sound somewhat menacing, but JJ just found it adorable.

JJ looked down at Emily, who was holding a remote up at her, and she laughed. “What are you gonna do, Em? Change the channel?”

Emily looked down at her hand, dropping the offending object, and dropping back down to the bed, slinging her arm over her eyes with a grunt. She was embarrassed, she hadn’t meant to fall asleep, especially in JJ’s bed, but when Henry had refused to fall asleep on his own, she had no idea what to do. Climbing in the king-sized bed had been the last resort, and she had no idea when she had fallen asleep, but it had been the best nap she’d had in a long while.

“Sorry,” Emily mumbled.

JJ shook her head, her grin never wavering, as she rocked her sleeping son in her arms, “I’ll be back in a sec.”

Leaving the room, JJ walked down the hall and to Henry’s bedroom, setting her son in his bed. Rearranging the toys and blankets around him, she whispered how much she loved him before saying goodnight and slipping out the room quietly. She left the door open a crack to let the landing light in, and she turned on the baby monitor so she could come to his aid if needed.

As JJ headed back down the hallway, she expected to see Emily awake, but she was met with the older agent softly snoring on her bed once again. Not thinking twice about the action, JJ climbed onto the bed, lying next to Emily. There was a small space between the two women, and all JJ wanted to do was roll over and cuddle the older agent, instead, she laid there, staring at the ceiling, once again, overthinking the feelings that were becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

“I can hear you thinking from over here,” Emily grumbled, she rolled over, her eyes still half-closed.

“Huh?” JJ was startled that Emily was even awake, but mimicked her actions. When she was comfortable, it took a minute to realise how much closer Emily had gotten—their faces were mere inches apart, and for the first time, JJ saw the faint freckles that littered Emily’s nose.

Rubbing her eyes, Emily spoke softly. “Talk to me, Jay.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Em.”

“How about I tell you about what me and Henry did today?” Emily shuffled a little, moving her arm, so her head was resting on it. When JJ gave her a small nod, she recalled the entire day to the blonde.

Emily told JJ every little detail from the moment the blonde left the house, knowing that she usually just got a brief overview of how Henry was from the sitter. Recalling their hour in the park, JJ couldn’t help but imagine the three of them out at the park together, as s little family but she was quick to dismiss those thoughts from her mind with Emily so close to her.

“I can’t thank you enough for today,” JJ said softly. “You saved my ass.”

“There’s no where I’d rather be when I’m being forced to take time off,” Emily said, her mouth twitching into a smile.

“I’m sure there are better things you could be doing with your time off than looking after my dinosaur obsessed son.”

“Adult things, yes,” Emily paused, “Fun things, well, it would have been a slightly better day if you were here too.”

Emily’s eyes didn’t leave JJ’s as her fingers began tracing lines over JJ’s warm skin. She didn’t have the heart to tell JJ, but the blonde was right—Emily hated sitting around and doing nothing, so she had meticulously planned her week off, but when she had received the call, she had cancelled her plans to catch up with an old friend, and helped JJ out.

Ever since Will had run away from his responsibilities of being a father to Henry, and a good boyfriend to JJ, Emily had been biding her time to bring up the fact that she had feelings for her best friend. It wasn’t ideal, Emily knew that, and as much as she tried her hardest to date other people, JJ was always at the forefront of her mind, and not one person could match her.

Annoyed at the awkward silence that seemed to have enveloped the room, JJ pushed back all thoughts telling her that what she was about to do was wrong, or that it was a bad move. Reaching over, JJ brushed Emily’s hair out her face before closing the distance between the two of them, pressing her lips against Emily’s. As their lips moved in sync, JJ gently pushed Emily back until she could swing her legs over Emily’s middle and sit up. When she was upright, she took her top off in one swift motion, discarding it to the side.

“Jay,” Emily’s words were more like a sigh, she bit her bottom lip and stared into the ocean-blue eyes she adored so much. Her hands settled quickly on JJ’s thighs, her thumbs rubbing the fabric-clad skin. When JJ lowered herself, Emily put her hand on the blonde’s chest, stopping her from moving. “I– I don’t–”

“Oh, god,” JJ’s eyes went wide, and her hands covered her face. She quickly moved from her current position, sliding off the bed and finding her top, holding it against her front and wishing the ground would swallow her whole. “Fuck! I’m sorry. I just thought– when you– I– uh–”

“JJ,” Emily hastily followed the blonde off the bed, “It’s not that I don’t want to, because, well have you seen you? What idiot turns you down? Me, clearly.” Emily saw the disapproval in JJ’s eyes, and she knew she had one chance to make this right. “All I’m saying is… you’re beautiful, but I don’t want a one time thing.”

“Fuck, Em,” JJ pinched the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes, she couldn’t bare to see the pity that was no doubt flashing across Emily’s face. “Maybe try not–”

“Jennifer, I respect you too much to just fuck you and walk away,” Emily said quickly, she stepped closer to JJ, hoping the blonde wouldn’t back away further, her hand running down her bare arm. “Jeeze, I want to take you out for dinner before you do,”—Emily pointed in the general direction of the bed with a heavy sigh, her mind already full of all the things she could get JJ to her—“whatever it was you were about to do.”

“Wh– what?” JJ stuttered as stared at Emily, not quite believing what was coming out of the brunette’s mouth. She had spent the last eleven months, if not longer, convincing herself that her feelings were one-sided. Hearing that Emily may have felt the same made JJ think she was in a dream. “You…”

Emily smiled, letting out a breathy chuckle, “Mind caught up yet, Jay?” Her hand moved from JJ’s arm to cupping the blondes cheek—Emily noted how JJ nuzzled into the touch. “I like you, a ridiculous amount actually, so can I take you out?”

All JJ could do was nod. She didn’t have any words, for the first time since Will had left her, she felt genuinely complete. Her son was sleeping in the next room, and she had a beautiful woman wanting to take her out.

 _It doesn’t get any better than this_ , JJ thought to herself.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on my socials:  
> Instagram: imbethwhittaker  
> Twitter: imbethwhittaker  
> TikTok: beth.prentiss


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